Greaves Log: Homecoming
Homecoming Homestead Bound Port Wander It took several days for us to reach the trading station known as Port Wander. In that time I figured out exactly what I intended to do there. The first thing I needed to do was to fix my armor; next I wanted to get the Devilsaur tooth I got to be forged into a knife. The last thing I needed to do, and the most important, was to get my Power Sword blessed in order to fight demons. Sooner or later, I was bound to fight chaotic forces, and when that day comes, I want to be prepared. As the Homestead was approaching Port Wander, Admiral Zachary held a briefing. Basically he was telling us to gather important supplies such as slaves (crew), spare parts for small repairs, and most importantly, as Fayte so easily put, food. I should probably mention that sometime ago, Nathan actually got his hands on an ice cream machine. He let us use it every once in a while, and it was one of the very few things that I enjoyed having on the ship. (Thank goodness that I could still eat dairy despite being half canine. Too bad the same couldn't be said for eating chocolate.) There was a crazy rumor that the machine was actually an old Space Marine reliquary that was cleverly disguised; however there was no way that was true. (If the thing really did have a Ghost Sword and Digi weapon in it, I would've noticed.) I chimed in that while we were on the subject of food that we should refill the ice cream machine. *Brings up a vanilla ice cream cone and proceeds to eat it. Admiral Zachary was slightly dumbfounded. "I locked up the room the machine was in, how did you get that?" I simply replied, "I have my ways." SCENE: Ice Cream Room, 8 minutes ago; A large machine is seen on the back wall of a small locked room. Suddenly, a circular panel falls down from the ceiling. Greaves descends down, and proceeds to the machine. SCENE: Back to the present; Zachary just shrugged and returned to telling us what to do. Before we left the briefing room, I asked Vulture if he could find someone to carve my Devilsaur tooth while we were down there. He said sure and I gave him the tooth. I left the Homestead alongside Axel, Fayte, Vulture, Krios, and lastly my friend Gladius. Krios wanted to find an item to benefit his abilities, so he suggested that we try the more shadier parts of the Port first. Seeing as how the Seneschal of the group was going along with him, I decided to follow. Fayte meanwhile went down a different road to find some sort of tech priest church or other. A surprising thing about Gladius. Right before we set course for Port Wander, he somehow convinced Red Ded to make him some armor and an axe. I don't know what he did, but Red Ded managed to weld an incredible set of armor that was beyond what I thought possible for an ork. It didn't even look orkish! Go figure. This was Gladius's first time in a space port, so he was a little concerned about the crowd of people, I calmed him down and told him "Don't worry, you might stand out a bit, but you'll blend in." As we walked down the street, I talked to him about some of the things that we saw around us. A good example was when Axel seperated from us to go into a brothel. I think he said something along the lines of "Later, I'm going to find myself my own personal bitch." When I told Gladius what the place was, he blanked. "Wait a minute, isn't that something people just do anywhere?" Now it was my turn to be confused. "What!? NO! What gives you that idea!?" He shrugged, "That's how the humans did it back home." (Oh, right.... Kind of forgot about Rome.) I told him that we had higher standards then the people on his home world, but only high enough to keep the practice in certain spots. The group kept moving to the more seedier side of the station. We soon found ourselves in what was considered to be the ghetto of Port Wander. After conversing with several shady people in the slums, Vulture managed to find someone who had knowledge of something suspicious in the area. He told of a series of lights coming from an alleyway from just around the corner. Krios took point and hurriedly ran to the alleyway, with us following right behind him. The place was a dead end. I was starting to become concerned that we fell for a trap. I brought out my Power Sword and let out a low growl. Gladius followed suit and brought out his axe. Looking around, I spy some lights coming from a cardboard box. There was a man inside who was muttering absolute gibberish. I motion to everyone else to it. Krios got a little excited for some reason. He looked in our general direction and whispered something I never expected to hear. "Guys, that's Tzeentch energy!" Everything seemed to fade at that moment for me. I brought my attention to the box. The lights coming from it were violet in origin, and the gibberish the man was saying was maddening. In my mind, there was only me, and the man sitting in the box. My rage rekindled inside of me, and I lashed out. With a roar, I charged at the man. With a single swing, I split him into two pieces, killing him instantly. In that moment, a waxy energy burst from his body. The energy became concentrated, and took form, transforming into some sort of warp beast. The monster took a swing at me with its claw. Reacting quickly, I brought up my sword to block it. I managed to stop the claw from tearing into me; however, I was unaware of the true threat of the monster's attack. Hazardous warp energy assaulted my body, causing me to black out...... Corpeus I woke up in the Homestead's medical ward for the second time in my life; This time though, it would take me four days to recover from the warp related wounds that I suffered. Gladius saw me when I was deemed fit enough for company. "Are you sure you're cut out for this line of work?" He asked me. I smiled, and told him to just tell me what happened after I was knocked out. He told me that Krios had managed to hit the demonic creature with a powerful psychic attack. The creature had disappeared leaving behind a worthless object. He then carried my limp body back to the Homestead. Vulture did get my armor fixed along with a slew of other things he managed to get done. Unfortunately, this meant there was no time to have my dinosaur tooth carved, so he just gave it back to me when he could. Axel managed to find some women who was willing to do 'favors' for him. He even managed to get weapons and ammo. Also, Fayte got heaps of scrap to do what she pleased with. When I was cleared from the ward, I made a beeline for Krios's over sized room. I knocked on his door, demanding to speak with him. He opened the door, none to pleased to see me. I let him know straight up what was on my mind. "I've only been released from medical care only a short while ago, so I'm not at full strength: Nonetheless, I need you to be straight with me, and tell me how it is that you knew that creature was one of Tzeentch's. Next thing I know, I feel invisible chains wrap around me, and despite my best efforts to fight it, I was flung halfway down the hall. He yelled at me, "DON'T YOU EVER TALK TO ME LIKE THAT AGAIN MUTT!!", and promptly closed and locked the door before I could react to his actions. That Astropath..... He was hiding something for sure.... Is he a Chaos Worshiper? He doesn't appear to be the type, but what other reason for such a strong reaction? Then again if someone asked me about my past, I wouldn't be so willing to share it. Irregardless I needed to know the answer to that question, and he outright shut me out, literally. Mark my thoughts if you can psychic, I will get that answer from you. "AAAAADDMIRAAAAAAAALLL NAAAATHAAAAN ZAAAAAACHRYYYYYYY!!!!!" A loud voice boomed throughout the hall rocking the ship, and nearly throwing me off my feet............. What the hell is going on, I just got up from being in the medic bay, I don't need this. Admiral Zachary's voice sounded on the P.A. system. He called us to the meeting room again. I manage to get another confrontation with Krios, however since time was of the essence, the encounter didn't escalate to anything more than both of us giving the other the evil eye. Zachary let us know that the ship being shaken, was because of Tarron Damos calling him back to an ice planet named Corpeus. We were expected to make port alongside several other factions of Tarron's forces inside of a outpost situated there. Once there, we were expected to be on our best behavior, and he couldn't stress this enough, and not cause trouble. It took us a few days in the warp to reach Corpeus. One look and you knew that this place was a winter wonderland. You could make out a few mountain ranges and large ice lakes (or ocean), but the planet was covered top to bottom in ice. It didn't take us time to land. In the meantime, I made sure that I was in my best and warmest attire and that my fur was brushed nicely. Everyone got prepared in each their own way and managed to look like a decent crew. (I never thought we could look professional.) Our transport ship arrived without incident on Tarron's city port. There a man greeted us, and handed Zachary a card telling him that he was ordered to read it without delay. Zachary opened the card and read it aloud. 'The next one goes through your head.' Suddenly there was a swift whistling sound of a bullet flying through the air, and Zachary's hat flew off his head. With a grin I asked if he wanted me to pick it up. He nodded. I took my time to inspect the hat. "Wow! They shot straight through the center." Zachary let out a nervous laugh. We were put on a hover craft, and taken to the heart of the city that this outpost was. The place was one circular fortress with a single tower rising from the center of the structure. It was heavily fortified with all sorts of turrets and missiles. Cameras could be seen everywhere. No mistake, this place was made to endure a siege. While we were being led by foot, we saw several civilian and military types walking around. Some of the civilians saw me and shrieked. I just yelled at them, "O SHUT UP!". At least I knew that there were normal people here. Faux Shot We were led to a large room filled with soldiers from every post of Tarron's forces. Some looked at us as we entered. Admiral Zachary, in an inappropriate fashion, took a seat, brought out a tankard of alcohol , took a sip, and placed his feet on the round table in the middle of the room. This brought some ire and frustration from the other officers. Once our crew was seated, the doors on the other side of the room opened. An older man with a full mutton chop mustache walked in with the gait of a proud gentleman. Following behind him was a woman with white hair. Admiral Zachary seemed to be afraid of her. A younger looking C.O. that was sitting across from us was the first to speak. "ABOUT TIME!! Why have we been called here!!? I was in the middle of a CAMPAIGN IN-" The older man, with swiftness and grace, took out a handgun and shot a round, disintegrating the insubordinate's hat. The man's tone immediately took a 180. "You shall speak when you are addressed." The gentleman calmly told the young man, and holstered his gun. He then directed his attention to everyone seated. "Ladies and Gentlemen of Tarron Damos's fine forces, I ''am General Alexi 'Faux Shot' Harahknivi. Some of you may know me by my code-name Stilleto. For those of you who don't know me, I am the one responsible for all of Tarron Damos's military operations, and as such, in charge of all of you. As some of you may know, Tarron Damos has fallen on hard times as of late with the Inquisition sticking their noses into our assets. Due to these recent turn of events, we must resort to drastic, but necessary measures; even if that means pulling men like.... What was your name again?" Once again, everyone's attention was focused on the young commanding officer. "It, it, it's-" General Harahknivi interrupted him again. "It doesn't matter. Point is, we need to make sure our ranks are clear of any and all things that the Imperium considers heresy. For that matter, your ships are now being thoroughly inspected." A few gasps escaped from the room. I myself started to feel concern for Gladius, who wasn't exactly an approved mutant by the Imperium's standards. "Now here are the rules you will be expected to abide by. You will remain here on this planet for as long as this process takes. During that time, you will not cause 'any' trouble for either the local citizenry, military, or towards each other. Any failure to comply with these two rules, will result with me putting a bullet into your head. Any questions?" For a time he looked around the room. Not a single objection was raised from where I could see. Alexi on the other hand, spotted a raised hand that I had missed. He walked around the table as he spoke. "Ah, I see that your men continue to question authority at every opportunity Nathan. Tell me Astropath, what is your concern?" Krios stood up. "Yes, what would happen if say, someone where to attack us, and we attacked them back in retaliation?" General Harahknivi was now halfway across the table and was still approaching us. "Then I shoot you both. Any other questions psyker?" Krios shook his head. Alexi was now a few feet from us. "What about you Admiral? Do you have any questions about the proceedings?" Zachary didn't give him a response. The general glanced at us. "I see you still employ the shadiest of people to serve under you friend." Zachary smirked and replied, "If you think they're bad, take a look at the dog I have over here". (Ah Damn it.) As the General examined me, I took the chance to get a closer look at him. His face was worn, but his eyes were piercing. There were no irregularities in his military outfit, even his medals seem to shimmer. "By the God Emperor Nathan, where did you pick this one up?" "I found him in a kennel." Zachary replied. I heard chuckling in the audience. (REALLY?!) Harahknivi didn't seem fazed by the comment. "Well keep him on a tight leash, we don't want this place going to the dogs now." He exchanged an elaborate handshake with Zachary and took his leave of us. "If there are no more questions, than you are all dismissed." When the General left the room, people began to murmur among themselves. I myself broke the silence in our corner by telling our Admiral, "Thank you for exhibiting me to Tarron Damos's highest and most veteran soldier ''sir!". "You're welcome!" Zachary said, not showing any sign that he noticed the sarcasm in my statement. Fayte piped up, "Sir, correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem a little frightened by the woman that accompanied the General. Why is that?" Just like that, the woman walked up to us. "Oh he has a good reason to be afraid of me." She raised her hand and pointed to her wedding ring. "Hello Naomi. How have you been?" Zachary asked his wife. While the two women grilled Zachary for not calling in on his wife, I took a look around the room. Krios had run off to play cards with other Astropaths, and Navigators. (I'm willing to bet he was cheating.) I also tried to see if I could see any familiar faces in the large group of people, but found none. I did spy Vulture conversing with another captain. No doubt he was trying to extend his business with as many people as possible. He was doing a roundabout introduction about himself: listing several things that he had done in his lifetime. (The feats certainly were impressive.) With an impish impulse, I yelled, "He calls himself the Hawk". Vulture excused himself from the group to give me a whack on the head with the butt of his shotgun. (Dude hits like a girl.) He returned to the group to continue his long winded introduction. Mrs. Zachary, took her husband's hand, and walked him outside telling him that they needed to talk. My thoughts turned to my supervisor. There was a good chance that he would still be in Jika where Tarron would most likely be. I will have to make a report to him, or else my movements would become suspicious in his eyes. Seems like during my time here, I'll have to make an excuse to be by myself, then make a call like I did last time. What will I tell him, I wonder. I was by no means truly loyal to either the crew, or to anyone else in Tarron's informants. I know about a few things, Admiral Zachary wouldn't want these people to know about, but should I stick my neck out to a man that shown me no respect? Than again, Tarron's officers were no better in that regard. Decisions, Decisions....